Sunday Stroll through the seed catalogues/February 22

To see who else is strolling this Sunday, please visit The Quiet Country House.


There's just nothing that will brighten up an end-of-February day (on which a foot of snow is predicted!) more than ordering the plants and seeds for next summer's garden. I stayed in New England again, as I did last year.

We were so very happy with our shallots that we got the same ones again this year from John Scheeper's Kitchen Garden Seeds in Connecticut.

Spring-Shipped French Red Shallots A good variety for novice shallot-growers, our French Red Shallots are amazingly productive; are easy to peel and dice and have an intense, spicy flavor. In the summer, when the top greens start to die back, they will yield shallots the size of chestnuts with coppery russet skins and purple pink flesh. Plus, they store very well, in fact, they can last up to a year when stored properly in a cool, dry spot (between 50 to 60 F). One pound of sets shipped to you in the early spring!

I only recently finished up last year's crop. I used them instead of onions in many recipes after my onions were all gone. Between scallions, onions, and shallots, I didn't have to buy anything from the allium family for many months.

Because we had such success with the leek and onion plants, I am getting them again from Johnny's in Maine.

King Richard Plants (Allium porrum) Remarkable earliness and length. Beautiful full-sized leeks. In favorable soil and culture, the white stems are over a foot long to the first leaf. Upright, medium green leaves. While not hardy enough for overwintering, it will withstand medium-heavy frost (32° to 20°F/0° to -7°C) without losing its healthy appearance. Popular since first introduced in 1978. We lost this great variety when our supplier dropped it. Now we have seeds from our own production. Avg. 50 plants/bunch.

Super Star Plants (F1) (Allium cepa) Big, mild white onions - 2001 All-America Selections winner! Widely adapted, day-neutral variety, Super Star matures well anywhere in North America from spring sowing. Suitable for fall planting where short-day onions are normally grown. Produces uniform, large, white-skinned onions with mild flavor and thick rings. Great for salads, slices, onion rings and frying. Not for long storage. Pink root tolerant. (Unit) 60-75 plants per bunch.

It would be cheaper to just start seeds under our lights, but because we grow so many plants, that would take up a lot of room. Instead, we'll be using that space for starting Peacevine tomatoes, lettuce, lavatera, sweet peas, basil, parsley, and zucchini.

From High Mowing Seeds in Vermont, I ordered: Peacevine tomatoes, Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach, Green Arrow peas, Genovese basil, and Old Spice sweet peas.

From Johnny's, along with the onion and leek plants, I ordered Music garlic, which we plant in the fall and have had great success with for a few years now. I ask myself why we didn't begin growing garlic a long time ago.

Music (OG) (Allium sativum) New last year! Rich, sweet, pungent flavor. Hardy and vigorous. Bulbs have tight, white wrappers with some pink shading. 6-8 cloves per bulb. A consistent producer year after year. Stores well after harvest. Organically grown.

I got a packet of one of Johnny's specials, Zephyr zucchini seeds, my favorite and the most successful of all we've grown over the years.

And from John Scheeper's Seeds: Sweet Slice cucumber, Ruby Regis lavatera, sweet peas, and cosmos, along with the shallot sets.

I happen to have a lot of leftover seeds from last year, so I didn't need to buy corn, yellow beans, parsley, sweet peppers, or lettuce.

June 29, 2008 - so green!!